Forged in Fire: LGBTQ+ Leadership

Totally, eminently qualified was how Senator John McCain describe our guest,  Eric Fanning,  during his confirmation to be Secretary of the Army .  In a career that weaves in and out of senior roles in government and industry, currently as CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association,  Fanning  was often the first gay person to occupy those heights. Yet that rarely comes up publicly, the focus is o...

Engineer, test pilot, public servant, and CEO only begins to describe Amanda Simpson's career and leadership flight path. She's flown over 60 different types of aircraft, but the most perilous takeoff may have been the one to finding her authentic self. Amanda's journey is filled with moments where she kicked open doors for other transgender people to follow her and was simultaneously recognized f...

Featuring returning guest Blake Dremann as our host for this episode, the Forged in Fire team looks back at our first season. There we so many insightful guests, amazing storytellers, and heroes on the show this season. Learn what surprised us, what we learned about making a podcast, and what our light-bulb moments were! We also ask for your feedback as we look to make Season 2 even better than th...

As the first Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, Vic Basile led a significant coalescence of the LGBTQ+ rights lobbying community during the AIDS crisis and fought prejudice and bigotry on Capitol Hill. In his new memoir, Bending Toward Justice: A Memoir of Two Decades of LGBT Leadership and the Founding of the Human Rights Campaign​, he tells the story of those challenging years...

In a storied career across many fields, Jamison Green has impacted countless lives, particularly those of transgender men. His 2004 memoir, Becoming a Visible Man, became the publisher's bestselling book of all time and was updated to a second edition in 2019. Jamison has successfully led nonprofit organizations, changed anti-discrimination laws, reformed insurance exclusions and diagnostic protoc...

Colorado's first transgender state legislator, Brianna Titone, is now in her third term. Recently, in a moment that blended her leadership and personal journey, Brianna's authenticity and the power of her representation shown through in a moment where she dared some house colleagues to look at her as they advocated for anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Her presence, and her ability to listen, build bridges, and g...

Storytelling is an art and Ron Oden has mastered the craft in a way that draws you in. Ron was the first gay African American to be elected Mayor of an American city when he won in Palm Springs in 2003. He has many identities: professor, administrator, pastor, public servant. There's no doubt service to others is a theme in everything he does. You might not expect a story about an enormous chicken...

She's not yet on a Starfleet recruiting poster, but Leah Lauderback's journey to the stars has not been without hardship either. As the first out LGBTQ+ person to achieve the three-star rank of Lieutenant General and having been instrumental in the stand-up of the United States Space Force, Leah has boldly led teams into new frontiers and shattered barriers everywhere she's been. Getting there was...

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. In the United States, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Veterans and service members can also press 1 after dialing 988 or text 838255 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line. In this episode of Forged in Fire, Dr. Liz Cavallaro s...

In his new book, The Souls of Queer Folk: How Understanding LGBTQ+ Culture Can Transform Your Leadership Practice, Dr. Joel A Davis Brown uncovers the cultural values and leadership dimensions of the queer community. He also examines what we can all learn from LGBTQ+ leadership wisdom and how to avoid critical missteps. Sound a lot like what we're all about on this show? It is! Join us as we explo...

When invited on our show, Kai and Jackal, hosts of Stealth: a Transmasculine Podcast, both asked "Are you sure you have the right people?" We can assure you we do! Kai and Jackal discuss what they've learned from interviewing transgender men who transitioned more than twenty years ago and the implications of doing so in a time where trans people did not have the visibility they do in the 2020s. We...

Non-Commissioned Officers are the heart of the United States military. Their skill, leadership, and ability to seize the initiative is what creates such a dynamic force. Master Sergeant Sabrina Bruce (Space Force), Technical Sergeant Alexandria Holder (Air Force), and Sergeant Zaneford Alvarez (Army), are shining examples that junior service members can aspire to take after and they just happen to...

Everyone has a story. Danica Roem's advice, "Don't let other people define your story for you." Her book, ​Burn the Page, talks about setting fire to the stories that don't define you in a way that we believe lights the way to a brighter future. Danica's journey, and the hurdles she overcame along the way to become the first openly transgender state legislator in the United States, put her in a pl...

From the family dinner table to his current role as Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, no topic has been taboo for Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen. When he emerged from the fog that separated him from others by coming out as trans, one of the first challenges was telling his family, including his mother, a long-time Republican Congresswoman. His ability to not make assumptio...

In our most wide-ranging interview yet, we speak with Jennifer Brown, a DEI thought leader, author, and entrepreneur who explores the boundaries of where we can go to ensure everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Classically trained in performance, she harnessed the courage it took to perform on stage and dance in the fire of the spotlight and cultivated that into standing for others and creatin...

US Navy Commander Blake Dremann epitomizes the Navy core values. His career has had so many shocking turns that it deserves a full length feature film. Brought up in a faith environment and attending bible school, Blake found the military. He was in the first group of (perceived) women to integrate submarines and then became instrumental in opening up the military to transgender service. He led SP...

An award-winning writer, director and producer of film & television, Scottie Jeanette Madden has done it all in entertainment. For most of her life she fought to live up to and even surpass the expectations of those around her, venturing through many incredible adventures. Yet everything changed in her second act. Now she's creating a plethora of queer content and lifting voices that need to be he...

What do you do when you see a void in an organization, a community, or a nation? If you're Melissa Gumbs, you find a way to fill that gap with ideas and programs that can benefit everyone. In Sint Maarten, she saw an opportunity to build a community for LGBTQ+ folks and a political party for everyone. Now, as a Member of Parliament, her ideas about inclusion seek to reduce the brain drain caused b...

There's a fire burning deep within Becky Burke , head coach of the University at Buffalo women's basketball team. From an appearance in the NCAA final four as a player, through a wild rise up the coaching ranks, and now as an authentic leader, you can feel the heat within her. But this is no out of control blaze, Burke channels that fire into developing her players, creating positive envir...

No Person is an Island - LGBTQ+ Leaders are everywhere! We speak with Tamara Adrián, a Venezuelan lawyer, professor, author and polyglot advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. Tamara was the second transgender person elected to a national legislature in the Western Hemisphere and has been involved in basically all strategic litigation concerning LGBTQ+ rights in Venezuela and Latin America. She knows that no...

In our first opportunity to speak with a fellow scholar and practitioner of LGBTQ+ development, we welcome Dominic Longo. Dominic is the founder of Flourishing Gays where he helps people move beyond just getting by in the world top open up a world of flourishing. We get to know some of Dominic's personal story and explore some of the tropes of LGBTQ+ leadership from being the 'best little boy in t...

A Naval Officer, Nurse, Lawyer, Educator, Leader. Paula Neira 's career spans an incredible set of experiences and professions. She wanted nothing more than to command a ship at sea, but her Naval career was cut short by the need to live authentically well before transgender people could do both. Find out how she developed that still-burning desire to serve into a career in medicine, law, and educ...

Learn how Matthew Rose moved from investigating conspiracy theories about health disparities to leading HIV and vaccine policy education and advocacy efforts around the world. Matt developed powerful communication skills that allow him to translate between different communities of stakeholders, including those representing the most vulnerable and in-need communities. We explore code-switching, inc...

Explore the power of story as a leadership tool with Ross Murray , Vice President of the GLAAD Media Institute. Ross walks us through building powerful narratives for connection. In essence, Ross helps us understand how to use story as a change management tool. We also dive into moments where he faced discrimination, embraced his identity, and turned it all into a panoply of opportunities to help...

In our very first episode we speak with Raffi Freedman-Gurspan about her leadership and allyship in service of others. With Raffi, we begin to explore many of the themes we're going to dive into with Forged in Fire.  Raffi's story includes coming out and fighting for civil rights at a young age, understanding a complex set of intersectional identities, self-care in advocacy, shattering stereo...